Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv has their first test of the young season when they met the first team of HaKoach Ramat Gan in a friendly at Kiryat Shalom. The Yellow & Blue win by a score of 3:1 on goals by Or Dasa, Prince Thomas and Mufleh Shalata. The senior staff of the Youth Department including Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen was also present at the match.
The Starting XI: Haviv Ohayon, Alon Strosberg, Fadi Najar, Ran Vaturi, Tomer Mahluf, Prince Thomas, Tomer Altman, Omer Brami, Or Dasa, Adir Hardon and Sahar Barami. During the second half the following players also took part: Roie Man, Tamir Glezer, Amit Mordehayev, Mufleh Shalata, Yoav Hopemeister, Riki and Kadira Avis.
Match Summary:
The 38th minute saw the Yellow & Blue take the lead as Or Dasa took a rebound and volleyed the ball home to give the hosts a 1:0 advantage. Four minutes later, Ramat Gan drew even after a nice team effort, however, Prince Thomas helped Maccabi retake the lead after collecting a nice ball from the right side and found the back of the visitor’s goal. Mufleh Shalata increased the Under-19 side’s advantage in the 75th minute as he beat two defenders to give his squad a 3:1 victory.
Head Coach Guy Tzarfati summed up the contest: “This was a friendly which featured many good things, but of course there are plenty of things that need improvement. Two items that stood out today was the club’s determination and method of play. Those are both things that will be emphasized this season. I enjoyed the way we won as well as the attitude of the players and the style of the game itself. Of course, this is just the beginning of the path and there is plenty of work ahead.”
